21 Theater Books for Your Spring 2025 Reading List
Broadway authors this season include Jeffrey Seller, Gregory Maguire and more.
By: Nicole Rosky Mar. 29, 2025
Need a great book to spring into the new season? This spring, Broadway's best have put pen to paper to turn out theatre page-turners of every kind. From theatre biographies to theatre fiction; theatre books for kids to theatre history; check out our collection of 21 new Broadway books for every theatre lover's Spring 2025 reading list.
Check out recent releases and view upcoming books for later this year!
Theater Kid: A Broadway Memoir
By Jeffrey Seller
Available May 6, 2025
A coming-of-age tale from one of the most successful American producers of our time, Jeffrey Seller, who is the only producer to have mounted two Pulitzer Prize–winning musicals—Hamilton and Rent. Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. We see him find his voice through musical theater and move to New York, where he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway.
King of Broadway
By Dan Elish
Available Now
Horatio King is an eighty-five-year old curmudgeon who happens to be the greatest musical theater composer and lyricist of his generation. Fifteen years before the story begins, his last musical, "Black Hawk Down," was a flop. Now King is approached by twenty-five-year old Ben Willis who sends him a copy of his newly published children's novel, "The Worldwide Dessert Contest." Would King like to get back in the game and collaborate with a new-comer on what could be his last Broadway musical?
In Gad We Trust
By Josh Gad
Available Now
For the first and possibly last time, Josh Gad dives into a wide array of personal topics: the lasting impact of his parents’ divorce; how he struggled with weight and self-image; his first big break; how everyone was sure his most successful ventures (both on the big screen and the stage) would fail; his take on fatherhood, and so much more. This trip down the rabbit hole of overly personal stories will distract readers from climate change, the downward descent of democracy in Western civilization, and the existential threat that AI poses to Drake’s music—with never-before-seen photos and few-to-no spelling errors.
If the Song Doesn't Work, Change the Dress: The Illustrated Memoirs of Broadway Costume Designer Patricia Zipprodt
By Patricia Zipprodt and Arnold Wengrow
Available Now
Iconic Broadway Costume Designer Patricia Zipprodt (1925-99) tells her own colorful story from a tumultuous childhood in Depression-era Chicago to Bohemian New York in the 1950s, becoming one of the 20th century's most celebrated designers. Told with Zipprodt's acerbic humor and delicious wit, If the Song Doesn't Work, Change the Dress charts her journey to 1950s Greenwich Village, America's literary and artistic Bohemia. Tracking her career as it plunges into the developing Off-Broadway movement, and charting her personal and professional failures and successes collaborating with the biggest artists of the day - Jerome Robbins, Hal Prince, and Bob Fosse - making her one of the most recognizable, and award-winning, designers of 20th-Century Theatre.
Every Day a Little Death: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Stephen Sondheim
By Josh Pachter
Available Now
rime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Stephen Sondheim? Seriously? What in the world do Sondheim and crime fiction have in common? Well, nothing...unless you remember that Sweeney Todd is the story of a murderous barber, and Assassins is the story of multiple killers and would-be killers, and Into the Woods tells the story of a wolf who eats grandmothers, and The Last of Sheila--not a musical comedy for the stage but a devious whodunnit Sondheim co-wrote with Anthony Perkins for the screen--won the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Allan Poe Award for the best mystery film of 1973. In Every Day a Little Death, twenty authors--some from the world of crime fiction, some from the world of the theater--use Sondheim's lyrics as the inspiration for twenty tales of malfeasance, misdemeanor...and murder.
Elphie
By Gregory Maguire
Available Now
What happened to young Elphaba before her witchy powers took hold in Wicked? Almost 30 years after the publication of the original novel, for the first time Gregory Maguire reveals the story of prickly young Elphie, the future Wicked Witch of the West—setting the stage for the blockbuster international phenomenon that is Wicked: The Musical. Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, will grow to have a feisty and somewhat uncompromising character in adult life. But she is always a one-off, from her infancy; Elphie is the riveting coming-of-age story of a very peculiar and relatable young girl.
The Technique of Acting
By Stella Adler
Available Now
The Technique of Acting is an introduction to Adler's unique approach to acting, addressing such key elements as imagination, circumstances, actions, working with text, and developing a character, and is replete with examples and exercises that concretely build skills. The book finishes with her compelling narrative of how she came to study intensively with Konstantin Stanislavski. If you love theater and love acting, this work will provide you with invaluable insight and education to both.
Audition Advantage: Tips & Tools for Your Next Musical Theatre Audition
By Elizabeth Mannhardt
Available Now
Ready to take center stage? Whether you're a seasoned performer or stepping into the spotlight for the first time, "Audition Advantage" will inform and inspire your audition preparation and experience from top to bottom. This comprehensive guide is packed with insider tips, expert advice, and proven techniques to help you shine in every audition room. From choosing the perfect song and crafting your performance, to understanding the nuances of the audition process, this guide will help you stand out from the competition. Learn how to showcase your unique talents, prepare for success, and present yourself with confidence.
The Story Behind Broadway's Biggest Hits
By Isaac Q. MIller
Available Now
Unlock the hidden world of Broadway with this essential read, crafted specifically for theater enthusiasts who find themselves on the outside looking in. Do you crave fresh insights and alternative viewpoints that challenge the typical narratives surrounding Broadway's productions? Are artistic decisions on stage a mystery to you? Have you ever felt disconnected from the whirlwind of creativity that fuels the stage due to limited access to behind-the-scenes information? You're not alone. Many theater enthusiasts and aspiring creators seek to understand the nuanced processes that make Broadway tick.
Theatrical Genre & Style: A Guide for Designers, Directors, and Performers
By Karen Brewster and Melissa Shafer
Available April 1, 2025
Theatrical Genre & Style will appeal to all theatre makers—those in performance as well as design—students, amateurs, and professionals. Traditionally, theatre practitioners receive information about style and genre from sources composed primarily for studio artisans and not theatre artisans. These books are helpful but ultimately fall short because they do not specifically apply the use of style to theatre art and practice. Theatrical Genre & Style gives theatre artists a guidebook to style and genre that is specific and tailored to their needs.
The Sound of Murder: Musicals Are Murder #1
By Joseph Zellnik
Available April 3, 2025
Being out of town with a musical can be murder... October 3, 1959: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s latest musical, “The Sound of Music,” starring Mary Martin, has just had its world premiere in New Haven, the first stop on its road to Broadway. But for one member of the company it will prove to be the final performance. The following morning, the lifeless body of beautiful newcomer Eva Rossi – Mary Martin’s understudy – is discovered in a bizarrely-appointed hotel room, beneath a wall defaced with a bloody inscription: How do you solve a problem like Maria?
La MaMa Experimental Theatre – A Lasting Bridge Between Cultures: The Dialogue with European Theater in the Years 1961–1975
By Monica Cristini
Available April 14, 2025
This book focuses on the role of La MaMa Experimental Theatre within Avant-garde theater during the 1960s and 1970s. This study investigates the involvement of the Off-Off Broadway circuit in the Avant-garde experimentations both in the United States (New York specifically) and in Europe. This exploration shows the two-way influence – between Europe and the United States – testified by documents gathered in years of archival research. In this relevant artistic exchange, La MaMa (and Ellen Stewart as its founder and artistic director) emerges as a key element.
The In-Between: Intimate and Candid Moments of Broadway Stars
By Jenny Anderson
Available April 15, 2025
The In-Between: Intimate and Candid Moments of Broadway Stars has been years in the making. It is Anderson’s personal ode to the theatre community, including more than 100 of her photographs taken behind the scenes of the most iconic shows of the last decade: Hamilton, Wicked, The Lion King, Kinky Boots, Sweeney Todd, Waitress, Hadestown, Phantom of the Opera, and many, many more. With a foreword from Tony Nominee and Oscar Winner Ariana DeBose and rare photography of performers like Patti LuPone, Hugh Jackman, Chita Rivera, Jonathan Groff, and Gavin Creel, this gorgeous book gives Broadway fans a privileged glance behind the curtains of the world’s most prestigious theaters and the stars who grace their stages.
Broadway Dreamer: A New York Actor's Memoir
By Lynette Bennett
Available April 15, 2025
Have you ever dreamed of going into show business? Lynette Bennett did, and discovered joy, heartache, and danger along the way. This is the story of her struggle to break into show business during the tumultuous 1960s-lessons, auditions, and revving up her nerve to compete with hundreds of actors for each role. In time she finds success with commercials, jingles, and on the Broadway stage appearing with the new sensation-Barbra Streisand. She not only appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, she had to turn down a request for a repeat performance. She appeared in Funny Girl, Once Upon A Mattress, Anything Goes and many other shows, becoming a Broadway baby who lived her dream.
The Musicals of Cole Porter: Broadway, Hollywood, Television
By Bernard F. Dick
Available April 15, 2025
In The Musicals of Cole Porter: Broadway, Hollywood, Television, Bernard F. Dick presents a critical study of Porter’s Broadway and movie musicals, and his one foray into live television, Aladdin―covering the period from his first failure, See America First (1916), to the moderately successful Silk Stockings (1955), which ended his Broadway career. Taking a chronological approach, interspersed with chapters on Porter’s “list songs” that owe much to such operas as Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Rossini’s The Barber of Seville; his love songs, often bittersweet and bleakly poignant; and, above all, his love of figurative language, Dick discusses in detail the various literary sources and cultural reference points that inspired the lyrics to Porter’s numbers. The first volume of its kind exclusively dedicated to exploring the extensive body of work by this influential twentieth-century songwriter, The Musicals of Cole Porter is a compelling resource for readers interested in the craft of a great composer-lyricist.
Nautanki: The Musical Theatre of North India
By Devendra Sharma
Available May 1, 2025
Drawing on more than 4 decades of experience working in Nautanki as a writer, director, singer, and actor, Sharma's book is the first major study to analyse Nautanki not only through its literary bases, but also through live performances, considering it both in a historical vein and as contemporary theatre on the ground. What entertained India's masses and elites before the arrival of cinema in India? When did “modern” theatre begin in India and how did Nautanki contribute to its rise?
God and the Angel: Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier's Tour De Force of Australia and New Zealand
By Shiroma Nathan
Available May 6, 2025
A story of romance, fame, glamour and betrayal to rival that of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. The ‘ undisputed King and Queen of the English stage,’ Sir Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh toured Australia in 1948 as an adored celebrity couple. God and The Angel details the heights of their fame and the beginnings of the end of their ‘ fairy-tale’ love story. This is the first illustrated book on the 1948 Old Vic Tour of Australia and New Zealand, led by Olivier and Leigh. Written from an Australian perspective and utilising never-before published photos from the National Library and author’ s collection, God and the Angel diarises a theatrical tour amidst a tense postwar context.
Stereophonic
By David Adjmi
Available May 13, 2025
The place: Sausalito. The time: the mid-1970s. The carpet: brown shag. Stereophonic brings us inside the cloistered world of a recording studio as a rock band on the brink of superstardom attempts to create their sophomore album. The ensuing pressures open up cracks in the band’s once-easy camaraderie, and spats over issues like tempo and song length begin to reveal deeper problems in the band’s foundation. Running on a diet of booze, sleep deprivation, and a giant bag of cocaine, interpersonal relationships are pushed to the breaking point as a process that was meant to last a few weeks becomes a neverending slog. With original songs by Arcade Fire’s Will Butler, David Adjmi’s play is an electrifying portrait of a band wracked with division and disillusionment that nevertheless might be on the verge of creating a masterpiece.
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The Book of Joel
By Joel Grey
Available May 20, 2025
The Book of Joel is the visual life story of one of the world’s most beloved entertainers, Joel Grey: actor, singer, dancer, director, and photographer. This sprawling yet intimate scrapbook-style volume uncovers a kaleidoscope of both famous and previously unseen photographs, family snapshots, playbills, posters, and ephemera from Grey’s personal archive, revealing an encyclopedic and all-absorbing visual romp through one of the last living greats of American entertainment. The Book of Joel is a captivating collection of photographs, ephemera, and posters that capture the multifaceted life and career of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement in Theatre Award, Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award winner Joel Grey.
Theater After Film
By Professor Martin Harries
Available May 23, 2025
In Theater after Film, Martin Harries argues that after 1945, as cinema became omnipresent in popular culture, theater had to respond to cinema’s hegemony. Theater couldn’t break that hegemony, but it could provide a zone of contestation. Theater made film’s domination of the cultural field visible through hyperbole, refusal, and other strategies, thereby unsettling its power. Postwar theatrical experiment, Harries shows, often channeled and represented film’s mass cultural force, while knowing that it could never possess that force. Throughout the book, Harries brings critical theory into contact with theories of performance. Although Theater after Film treats the theatrical work of many figures, its central focus falls on Tennessee Williams, Samuel Beckett, and Adrienne Kennedy. Discussions of these dramatists consider their ways of addressing spectators, the politics of race between film and theater, and the place of the theatrical apparatus. Readings of these central figures in twentieth-Century Theater exemplify the book’s historical engagement with the media surround that drama confronted. This confrontation, Harries shows, was central to the development of some of the most continually compelling postwar drama.
Theatre Fandom: Engaged Audiences in the Twenty-first Century
By Kirsty Sedgman, Francesca Coppa, and Matt Hills
Available May 30, 2025
By bringing together a range of discussions from leading international fan and performance studies scholars, Theatre Fandom tracks key case studies of theatre fans across different eras, performance forms, and cultures. The contributors emphasize the importance of considering theatrical elements such as pleasure, engagement, allure, enjoyment, and love. They illustrate how leveraging fan enthusiasm can foster greater and more meaningful participation in the cultural industries, potentially guiding us towards a thriving post-pandemic future for theatre.
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